One Year Later
by CarlyWinchester
Summary: One year after the war with Gaea, Piper and Jason run into someone they thought was dead.


Lifting up her hand, Piper fanned her face. She and Jason were sitting under Thalia's tree, trying to escape the unbearable heat. Being a daughter of Aphrodite, Piper didn't sweat much, or risk looking anything less than perfect, but Jason wasn't so lucky. Beads of sweat dripped down the side of his face, and the heat from the air fogged up his glasses, forcing him to take them off every few seconds to wipe the fog from the lenses. Piper smiled at him, remembering the day he got his glasses. Asclepius gave Jason one look, and pulled out a pair of glasses. She remembered how excited Jason got when he put them on, finally being able to see in HD. At first, he didn't really care, but later, after their mission was complete, he wouldn't stop pointing out everything he was finally able to see with them on, like leaves on a tree.

Though it's only been a year since their quest to defeat Gaea, the memories seemed so far away. Piper and her friends on board the _Argo II,_ fighting monsters and angry snow goddesses until they landed in Athens and somehow managed to defeat the Giants with their godly parents. Jason looked so powerful fighting next to Zeus, it sent chills down her spine. She remembered how Leo and Hephaestus stayed on the ship, working fast pace, firing the ballista, keeping the ship in the sky, and saving everybody's backs, when a monster decided to attack from behind. Piper's smile faltered when she thought about Leo. Asclepius looked at Leo like he was dying, but Leo he played it off as a broken heart, saying he was just dying to see Calypso again, rather than telling them the truth. He was doomed, the aura of death was surrounding him, all leading up to his grand sacrifice... If only Piper paid more attention to the concerned look Asclepius gave, if only she was able to save Leo from the explosion, if only Leo didn't have to die alone… Piper shook her head. She couldn't afford to think like that. Leo died a hero. He knew exactly what he was doing. He kept the plan to himself, but he must of had it for days. He sacrifices himself to save everyone – to destroy Gaea. And he wasn't alone. He had Festus. Piper wouldn't have been surprised if Leo kicked her out of the best friend spot, and replaced her with the bronze dragon. Piper let out a sigh.

Sensing something was wrong, Jason sat up, and looked at Piper. Piper couldn't help but smile at the sight of her boyfriend. His eyebrows were scrunched together, and his lips were thin, how he always looks when he's worried about Piper, but his fogged glasses ruined the look.

"Are you okay?" He asked, pulling off his glasses.

"Yeah," Piper sighed, "I was just thinking about Leo." Jason nodded, looking away from her. Piper knew that Leo was a tough subject to Jason as well. Even though Leo's first memories of Jason were products of the mist, Jason quickly warmed up to the quirky, hyperactive boy. Their friendship became as important to Jason, as his relationship with Piper.

Standing up, Piper extended her arm to Jason, who took it instantly.

"Come on, the Romans should be arriving any minute now." Jason smiled. He was looking forward to seeing Reyna, Hazel, Frank, and the rest of Camp Jupiter again. Hand in hand, they walked down the hill. They passed the forge, and Piper's heart ached. The forge was Leo's home, where he spent ninety-nine percent of his time while at Camp Half-Blood. As the building passed out of sight, Piper saw a figure in the distance and froze.

"Piper? What's wrong?" He followed Piper's gaze, and when he found what she was looking at, he gasped, and dropped her hand, his arm hanging limp at his side, swaying slightly with the breeze. Standing before them, just a couple of feet ahead, was a short, tan boy, with unkempt, curly brown hair, standing in front of a large, metal dragon.

"What's up, guys? You look like you've seen a ghost." The boy said with a small voice, flashing a weak grin.

"L-Leo?" Piper whispered, not believing her eyes, but unable to look away. Piper's heart propelled itself against her chest. She stumbled in her place before she and Jason sprinted over to their dead friend, jumping on him in a hug that almost knocked the three of them to the ground. Piper pressed her forehead against Leo's neck, feeling the solidness of his skin. A sense of relief flooding throughout her body, knowing that he wasn't a ghost, and he was actually there, right in front of her. Piper let out the breath that she didn't know she was holding. Piper felt Jason's arm around her back, as he tightly wrapped his arms around his best friend. His glasses were now fogged from both sides, the outer part from the moisture in the air, and the inner side fogged from the hot tears that fell down his face. Seeing her boyfriend shed tears, caused her to let out the tears that were tugging at her eyes a moment before, allowing them to flow freely down her face, and soak into Leo's torn and burnt jacket.

"I missed you too." Leo said with a cracked voice. While flying back to camp, he had prepared dozens of jokes about resurrection, returning from death, about him being so awesome, the Underworld gave him back, but when he saw his friends, he forgot all of his jokes. Instead, small tears fell from his eyes, wetting Piper's hair. He held his two best friends tightly, not wanting to let go – not wanting to leave his friends ever again. Feeling lightheaded, Leo hung his head between Jason's and Piper's, and sniffed.

"I'm back guys." Leo whispered, "I'm never leaving you again. I promise."

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